Imperforate wrappings for cigarettes



Nov. 10, 1959 P. w. BRAMHILL IMPERFORATE WRAPPINGS FOR CIGARETTES Filed Feb. 18, 1957 Unite States Patent 2,911,979 IIMPERFORATE WRAPPINGS FOR CIGARETTES Percy W. Brarnhill, Mount Royal, Quebec, Canada Application February 18, 1957, Serial No. 640,869 1 Claim. (Cl. 131-4) This invention relates to improvements in wrapping cigarettes and has for its principal object a novel and economic method of individually wrapping cigarettes to seal off their ends so as to prevent the penetration of moisture from the atmosphere as well as to prevent the escape of the natural moisture content of the tobacco in the cigarette.

Another object is to provide a cigarette with a removable imperforate cap which is slidably fitted on each end thereof to seal off from the atmosphere the tobacco that would otherwise be exposed at the ends of the cigarette, and thereby eliminate the necessity of foil wrapping a quantity of cigarettes in bundles prior to packaging same.

Another object is to provide a particular method of forming imperforate caps for the ends of cigarettes which includes the novel steps of forming a cylindrical cap with an end closure portion and means for sealing and securing the end closure portion and maintaining said seal.

A particular feature of this invention consists in the provision of snugly fitted caps on each end of a cigarette so that, upon removal of a cigarette from a package, these caps can be removed from the cigarette ends without the part which is to be placed between the lips making contact with a persons fingers.

The above and other objects and features characteristic of this invention will be understood more readily from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which-- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cigarette embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cigarette illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the initial steps of forming a cap shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing further progressive steps in the formation of said cap.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a modification of said caps.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 5 generally designates a cigarette having a protective cylindrical cap 6 slidably fitted on opposite ends thereof. The cap 6 has one end closed by offsetting one side margin of the cylindrical cap to provide centrally directed end folds or tabs 7 which effectively close the end of the cap. The tabs 7 are recessed within the closure end of the cap by inturning a portion between the tabs 7 and the cylindrical side wall to form an annular band 8 extending parallel to the cylindrical side wall along the inner surface thereof between a marginal end edge 9 of the cylindrical wall and the tabs 7. Band 8 secures or locks the tabs in their centrally directed position to provide a substantially tight, closure wall for the end of the cap.

The caps 6 may be relatively short, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to cover only portions of the cigarette adjacent to its opposite ends. Alternatively, the caps may be any suitable length up to a point in which two caps fitted on opposite ends of a cigarette will conjointly encase the entire cigarette, for example, as shown in Fig. 5.

In order to form a cap 6, a sheet of foil, paper-backed foil or like material is shaped to provide a hollow cylindrical member. This cylindrical member has one side margin offset and folded along fold line 9 of Fig. 3 to provide inwardly directed end folds or tabs '7 of the character shown in Fig. 4. Portions of the inwardly directed tabs 7 between the fold line 9 and a second fold line 10 are then compressed downwardly and outwardly from the fold line 9 against the inner surface of the cylindrical side wall of the cap. This last step serves to depress or recess the tabs 7 inwardly of the rim of the cap defined at the said fold line 9. Additionally, the thus formed band 8, which is substantially at right angles to the plane of the tabs 7 forming the end closure wall of the cap, secures the tabs against displacement in their tight, centrally directed overlapping positions.

In Fig. 4 it will be noted that the tips of the tabs project a substantial distance beyond the central axis of the cylinder when the side margin is first offset along the fold line 9. This projection should be sufficient to allow for the horizontal retraction of the tab-s towards the pe riphery of the cylinder when the securing band is formed, as described above, and still provide a sufiicient overlap of the tips to ensure a complete closure of the cap end.

When the caps according to this invention have been snugly fitted on the opposite ends of a cigarette it is afforded a protection against the loss or gain of moisture during the period of time between packaging and actual use by the consumer. This individual protection of each cigarette maintains its original condition to a far greater extent, and for a much longer time than the conventional foil wrapping of cigarettes in bundles will allow.

Moreover, the cigarette remains protected after a package has been opened and one or two cigarettes have been removed since any short end of tobacco in the cigarette will be retained beneath the cap at least until the cap is removed. Thus the pockets, handbags, etc. of smokers will be free from the accumulation of such tobacco ends which up to now have been a source of annoyance to smokers. Then, too, the protection of the cigarettes aflorded by the relatively tight end closure of the cap, reduces the tendency of these short ends of tobacco to fall away from the cigarette ends because of the moisture which is retained in the cigarette.

The embodiments of the invention in which an ex clnsive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

A removable protective end cap for a cigarette comprising a cylinder formed from a sheet of foil or similar material slidably fitted on a cigarette end, said cylinder having one side margin inwardly offset and folded to provide a plurality of closure tabs extending inwardly from the periphery toward the axial centre of the cylinder in overlapping relation with each other so that the inner ends of the tabs are also overlapped with each other at the central portion of the cylinder to form a closed end for said cap, said closed end being inwardly recessed from the marginal end edge of the cylindrical portion and secured in said recessed position by an annular band integrally formed by marginal portions of said tabs adjacent said periphery of the cylinder which extend along the inner surface of the cylinder from said end edge to the inwardly offset portions of the tabs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 595,763 Chope Dec. 21, 1897 880,487 Guenifiet et al. Feb. 25, 1908 1,761,205 Gibson June 3, 1930 1,848,168 Gordon Mar. 8, 1932 1,916,799 Hughes July 4, 1933 1,967,289 Colpe July 24, 1934 1,999,135 Buck Apr. 23, 1935 2,224,588 Bluhm Dec. 10, 1940 2,503,110 Heiland Apr. 4, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 609,677 Germany Feb. 20, 1935 

